Chi-town blues fest rocks

Chicago Blues Festival
Grant Park, Chicago
June 9-12

The Chicago blues scene was well-represented at this year’s Chicago Blues Festival. The main stage featured a Chi-Town artist every night (including Honeyboy Edwards, Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy and Mavis Staples) and on the other four stages all weekend long.

The Chicago blues scene is as strong as ever and still has influence on the music today.

Other notable notes:

There was an abundance of excellent piano work (especially solo piano) from folks like Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, Barrelhouse Chuck, Henry Gray, Detroit Junior and Lucky Peterson.

The fest celebrated the 40th anniversary of the British blues invasion with performances by Savoy Brown (decent) and John Mayall and the Blues Breakers with Mick Taylor (way better).

Happy 90th birthday to David “Honeyboy” Edwards. He was one of several senior citizens performing this year (Pinetop Perkins, Homesick James, Robert Lockwood Jr.). I love when folks make fun of rock musicians getting old but blues and jazz artists get a pass. In the blues world, you’re still an embryo at 30.

Speaking of embryos, there were a few younger, newer bands playing around town. One that caught my ear was Planetary Blues, a group of lads from Valparaiso who know about Son Seals and Junior Wells. See Mavis Staples quote at the end of this review.

The fest took some musical chances with the Zydeco band Fernest Arceneaux and the Thunders and the Sacred Steel music of Calvin Cooke. Good. Keep it up. Four days of the same 12 bar blues would and should wear anyone out.
I wish last year’s Indy Jazz Fest crowd could have seen Buddy Guy’s performance on Saturday. He opened with two acoustic numbers, plugged in and played two covers (including Freddie King’s “I’m Going Down”), a couple jams, “Feels Like Rain” and “Damn Right I Got The Blues” (a solid 45-50 minutes) before going on autopilot with the jukebox medley. I know, I know, there were thousands of first-time fans seeing his concert. I just wasn’t one of them.

Speaking of Indy Jazz Fest, the Chicago Blues Fest closer, Mavis Staples, will be at IJF on Sunday. Do not miss her performance. She has one of the best voices in music today and recorded one of the best albums of last year (Have A Little Faith). Her show mixes new material with The Staples Singers classics. The best moment was during “God Is Not Sleeping,” when she was so emotionally moved she almost burst into tears.

She also said something that rings true about the benefits of being old school. “I used to be a Beyonce. If Beyonce keeps singing, she’s gonna be a Mavis Staples.”
Amen, sister.
See you all at Indy Jazz Fest.

Matthew Socey is host of The Blues House Party, Saturdays at 9 p.m. on WFYI 90.1 FM.